The Bobby G Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in Colorado high-school musical theatre. The sixth annual awards take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 24, at the Buell Theatre. (Reserve your seat here)

Today we continue our rollout of the five students who are finalists for Outstanding Lead Actor. The winner will advance to represent Colorado at The Jimmy® Awards/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards™ (NHSMTA).

WILL WARNER

Tommy Korman in Honeymoon in Vegas
Lakewood High School
Class of 2018

• Twitter bio: Just a regular guy who wants to make an impact. I do every single activity I set my eyes on, and the one that has captured my heart is theatre.
• College plans: I will be attending the University of Oklahoma to pursue a BFA in Acting.
• First role: My theatre debut was Puck in the children’s version of A Midsummer’s Night Dream
• Why do you perform? To make an impact. I enjoy seeing people leave the theatre with more insight and perspective than when they entered. It is the power of this art form to change minds and drive the American culture to a more equitable place.
• One time you saw greatness play out in front of you: I saw The Woman in Black in London before my junior year, it was like watching magic. The two actors drew me into the story and took me on a roller coaster that changed my whole goal for my craft. I wanted to make magic like they did because it impacted me so much.
• Ideal scene partner: Eva Noblezada, who played Kim in the 2017 Broadway revival of Miss Saigon.

• What’s playing on your Spotify right now? “Take it Easy” by The Eagles
• Favorite moment from your show: I enjoyed seeing people who came in with frowns leave with smiles.
• How does it feel to be nominated? I feel very honored to be recognized, especially considering how talented some of the actors were in other productions I saw.

Reserve your seat for the May 24 Bobby G Awards

• What has this experience taught you about the value of arts education and extracurricular activities at your school? My experience in high-school theatre has taught me how an arts education goes beyond the knowledge developed in core classes in order to develop the individual. Arts education builds character, empathy and accountability, which are all core attributes of leaders. Acting and working on shows has made a leader of me, and I think that it prepares students to graduate high school ready for anything life throws at them.  

 Our featured nominated actors and actresses to date:

• Coco Justino, Denver School of the Arts
• Anton Karabushin, Eaglecrest High School, Aurora
• Abby Lehrer, Castle View High School, Castle Rock
• Travis Turner,  Fossil Ridge High School, Fort Collins

Selected recent coverage of the Bobby G Awards:

• 2018 Bobby G Award finalists are announced
• 2017 Bobby G Awards: Persistence pays off at Valor Christian
• Video: The 2017 Bobby Awards welcoming montage
• Videos: Complete coverage of the 2017 Bobby G Awards
• 2017 Bobby G Award finalists are announced
• Mamma Mia‘s Cashelle Butler returns to Cherry Creek High School
• Authentic voices: 2017 student playwriting winners announced

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter